Sens. Bennet And Gardner Say They Have A Compromise To Fund The Government

Colorado’s two U.S. senators have struck a compromise on a measure to extend protections for people brought to country illegally as kids, and boost border security.

They just need to sell it to the rest of Congress -- and President Trump.

Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet and Republican Sen. Cory Gardner told reporters Thursday that they are circulating their plan around to respective members on Capitol Hill ahead of a deadline of midnight on Saturday morning to fund the federal government.

Gardner said the plan includes some of what President Trump wants, including $1.6 billion for border wall planning and technology -- less than Trump is asking for.

“These are things we’ve worked to accomplish over the past several months,” Gardner said. We’re both here to do this work, to get our job done, to address a serious immigration issue in a way the president can support.”

White House officials said in a separate call on Thursday they would like to see the wall entirely funded.

Bennet, who was among the original Gang of Eight in the U.S. Senate that passed a comprehensive immigration plan in 2013, said the deal he’s worked on with Gardner is “not one I would have struck on my own,” but he thinks it can pass Congress. He said he will not support a short-term extension to fund the federal government without any fix to the Obama-era program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals -- DACA. Gardner said he would support a short-term funding deal to keep the government open -- even if there wasn’t a DACA fix included.

The program granted temporary work permits and legal status to live in the United States for people whose parents brought them to the United States when they were children.

“Washington will always look for an excuse not to act and I think we should act,” Bennet said. “I don’t think we should leave Washington until this issue is resolved … I don’t think there is any reason we should have a one month extension,” he said.

About Allison Sherry

Allison Sherry is reporter for CPR News covering immigration and criminal justice. Allison joined Colorado Public Radio after reporting in Washington D.C. for the Denver Post and Minneapolis Star Tribune.